A free eye care camp was organized by Aarayak for the residents of Kaziranga and Manas landscapes. The camps were specially organized for the forest workers and artisans living in marginal areas.
The camps were conducted in collaboration with Vision Spring, a social enterprise, and the local women’s groups of the area. A total of 123 people from 10 villages participated in the camps.
The initiative was taken after taking into consideration the opinion of the Rong Asar Amei (RAA), a traditional village institution in the Kaziranga- Karbi Anglong landscape. The collaboration of the women’s collectives, Aarayak and Rong Asar Amei ensured the smooth execution of the eye check-up camps. The eye check-up process was led by Partha Nath from Vision Spring.
Differently, the free eye checkup camps for Manas Landscape were organized by two separate groups, the former by the members of the Daodhara Dwisa Sher Boro Cuisine group and the latter by the students of the Tailoring School in Bhuyanpara. While the former group was actively involved in assisting the patients in registration and counselling, the latter group spearheaded the eye check-up activities. The camps concluded with the distribution of prescribed eyeglasses to those who needed them at a fair price of Rs 100 per pair.
The purpose of the initiative is to ensure affordable and high-quality vision correction solutions are accessible to disadvantaged communities, which is one of the core objectives of Vision Spring. The camps could not have been successful without the support and dedication of the Vision Spring team members, Aarayak, Rong Asar Amei, and the local women’s collectives from 10 villages.